So, it's about time for the next episode, and it looks like that's gonna be Applejack's "Day" Off.

My first real question on this one is why there are quotes in the title, and why they are just around "Day" and not "Day Off". Maybe Applejack will be gone more than a day?

Applejack could use a vacation anyways. She's always apple bucking, doing rodeo's, filling in for Big Mac when he's injured, and so on. I guess the real question is why it's taken her this long to have some time off. I mean "Applebuck Season" was the fourth episode of the show, and she really needed a vacation there.

Now, I'm all in favor of vacations. The more the better. If you could be on nothing but vacation's it'd be perfect, especially with a cool drink and somepony fanning you. And sunglasses, too. I think that's part of the required vacation gear.

Something tell's me this isn't going to go that well, though. Logicially, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom ought to be able to get everything done while she's gone, and we could always lend a hoof. But I'm sure either things'll go really badly while she's gone, or she'll just be fussing about how it's no fun not to be working your hooves off all the time while gone or both.

We'll see what happens, tho'. This is by Michael P. Fox and Wil Fox, those two foxes that did "The Gift of the Maud Pie".

--Sweetie Belle

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I can't help but imagine that Applejack's vacation is still bucking apples. Just like... for fun this time.

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Judging from the trailer, I'd guess Twilight has intervened because AJ's not right in the head from all the work.

Rarity and AJ have certainly come a long way from Look Before You Sleep.

Edit:
New best RD moment.

The earth pony gets to do hard labor while the unicorn gets pampered.

A life lesson for the kids.

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The Unicorn cares more about getting pampered than actually fixing a problem, even though it would benefit them. Just a bit of a different perspective on that lesson.

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Aaaaaah! But it turns out that the earth pony was being an idiot, wasting all her time doing unnecessary work and needed the unicorn to tell her what to do after all!

5258561 It's almost like the moral was unicorn master race.

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It was hard to watch Applejack doing a chicken dance.

Dreadnought

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...I got nothin'.

Well I think that was the most pointless episode I've ever seen. The only good moments there were seeing RD liking the spa and that one spa staff member getting towels thrown at his face.

5258143 Yup, pretty much just a bland Applejack episode because the writers once again refuse to get her off the farm. You'd think that with Rarity and Rainbow Dash wrapping up their character arcs and achieving their goals, they'd have run out of excuses for not doing anything with Applejack.

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Now that Applejack's boasted about how much time she has, there's no excuse to not have more Applejack episodes. After all, last season we had three Rarity episodes in a row (Canterlot Boutique, Rarity Investigates, Made in Manehattan).

Dreadnought

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The trouble with Applejack is that -- in contrast to Rarity and Rainbow Dash -- she already had everything she wanted in life right from the start of the series; there are no goals to achieve.

The only thing I can see her desiring next is to start a fa- continue the Apple lineage herself; she's a family pony after all. But clearly the show's not gonna start seriously shipping any of the Mane 6, so that avenue is kinda closed.

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Well, everypony needs some pampering sometimes...

Though at the beginning, I thought the problem was gonna be that Applejack didn't have enough time 'cause Spike was eating too much pie.

The idea that you might be working too hard 'cause you're doing a bunch of unnecessary things isn't a bad one, though I would've thought Applejack would have realized some of the stuff she was doing wasn't necessary. but then, Applejack is a silly pony...

[youtube=UF6Te2DDsyw]

Actually, though, it's kinda reminiscent of all the steps Granny Smith does for Zap apple farming.

--Sweetie Belle

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Still not sure why 'day' was in quotation, though.

Rarity is the new Darth Vader.

AJ is the new Tim the Toolman.

That's what I got out of it.

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Yeah, it seems more like they should have put "Off" in the quote marks.

Even for filler, I think I enjoyed this episode more than some of the earlier ones. It did kind of rehash Applebuck Season, complete with the wackiness that was her feeding the pigs and being a bit tunnel visioned with her chores. It was also nice to see Spoiled Rich again, and in a relatively good mood even.

*Sees Enclave2277's post*

Holy f&% 789! (I didn't see the ending of the pre title sequence, as the stream glitched out.)

Anyhoo,

This one's peculiar. It almost feels like an amateur slice-of-life fanfiction put to the screen rather than an actual episode. The writing is at bare levels of competency, with an aimless story, characters that feel out of character, and a hamfisted resolution. At its best, the episode is mundane, at its worst, it reaches WTF is going on.

Rarity is sick of Applejack being too busy with chores in order to meet her at the spa. That's right, Applejack has a weekly steambath with Rarity. I have no problem with the idea that AJ's grown to enjoy steambaths. But the episode treats this as if it's always been the norm. It certainly hasn't.

She has spent time at the spa before (Ponyville Confidential), and enjoyed it. But at heart, Applejack's a rough and tumble farmer, loves to till the earth and get dirt on her hooves. She's always been weary of the city-lifestyle, donning makeup, wearing frilly, frufru dresses. Weekly visits to the spa would not normally be part part of her routine, and the episode attempts to explain her sudden change of heart.

Speaking of mischaracterization, the worst to receive it in this episode is Rainbow Dash. Despite her immense fears of losing her awesome reputation if she was caught being pampered, she secretly enjoys going to the spa on a regular basis. By secretly, I mean attending in the middle of the day while the spa is brimming with customers. Shouldn't RD at least don a disguise?

I've gone so much over the missteps the episode makes in terms of characters, I've barely gone into the story. Applejack agrees to let Twiligt and Spike watch over the farm while she and Rarity get a steambath. The only chore Twilight and Spike are assigned is feeding the pigs, but due to the cryptic list of instructions AJ left them, they end up failing.

Meanwhile, at the spa, Rarity and Applejack find the line to the steam room backed up. Unwilling to receive any treatment but a steambath, Applejack goes sleuthing. She figures out that the reason behind the steam room not working is all of the hot water being used to wash towels, and a leaky pipe nearby keeping the hallway cold. Donning a tool belt and goggles, Applejack fixes the issues with the pipes, and gets the spa up in shape again. For some reason, Rarity is angry because AJ's spent her time fixing things instead of going through another of the spa's treatments. But I think helping solve potentially detrimental problems to the spa's revenue was a worthy cause.

So much happens in this episode, but it's all so unfocused that once it reaches the resolution it is difficult to even care. Applejack and Rarity check how Twilight and Spike are doing on the farm. Of course with instructions such as "1: open the gate, 2: close the gate", and other seemingly meaningless task just to feed pigs, Twilight and Spike have failed the task spectacularly. Applejack goes on feeding the pigs herself, using ritualistic maneuvers beforehand to do what should be one step, as if she has severe OCD.

Her rituals include the aforementioned opening and closing the gate, dancing and clucking like a chicken (what in the actual eff), making scary faces, and dangling from the top of the barn on a rope in order to...I can't even explain it. It is that incomprehensible. It is supposed to drive the point home that it sometimes takes an outside eye to see obvious problems. As AJ did in fixing the spa, and her friends in helping her cut down the rituals. To me it just makes Applejack look particularly incompetent as a farmer, especially as Twilight and Rarity give a hoof to her on the rest of her chores, and AJ is barely able to do anything right.

I should have mentioned the reason the rest of the Apple's aren't there: they are taking the harvest to town. Now to the extras, finally. This has been a long one.

Extras:
-I'm truly befuddled by RD's appearances at the spa. She tries to play it cool, behaving as if she's there for a sports massage after vigorous training with the Wonderbolts. These scenes are supposed to be a barrel of laughs, but they aren't at all. In fact, I don't remember a single joke in the episode working.
-More dialogue that the writers know the show is in a bad position: "Twilight's a princess and an alicorn, but not a farmer." Says Applejack, who unrealistcally goes through ridiculous steps just to accomplish possibly the most non-taxing chore on her own farm.
-It is interesting seeing more of the spa itself, including maintenance areas and the laundry room. The outside of the spa is shown as well, something not often for this location in the series.
-The dialogue and characters would feel right in place as part of a mediocre fanfiction. The way Rarity and AJ are so snippy when they have no reason to be, AJ's immense fix-it powers only applying at the spa, and her being totally inept everywhere else, RD's casual visits to the spa in her own hometown, not even with attempts to hide her identity. It all feels off.